CHS teachers organize fundraiser to help student in need

By Jeanne Marcello

Staff Reporter

CHESANING – Those attending Chesaning High School’s homecoming football game on Oct. 6 may want to consider bringing some spare change or cash to contribute to the Miracle Minute fundraiser. Between the first and second quarters of the football game, junior varsity football players will be running through the stands with their football helmets collecting donations.

Proceeds from the collection will go to help the family of Chesaning High School student Cole Folkes, 17, who is battling kidney failure and will need a kidney replacement operation in the next few months. His family is currently being tested to see if there’s a match.

Math teacher Krystle Niewiadomski explained the Miracle Minute fundraiser is an effort coordinated by a group of Chesaning teachers who are trying to help students in need. Folkes is the first person the group chose to help. She, along with other Chesaning teachers, have organized a group to help students like Folkes, who are very much in need.

She explained that Folkes has been battling kidney trouble his entire life. “His first surgery was before he was even born and focused on saving his lungs, even though his kidneys were already useless. He had to be on dialysis until he was a year old,” Niewiadomski said.

In 2001, he received a kidney from his father. Over the past 16 years, Cole has been through 51 surgeries. He has been in rejection since last January and needs to have dialysis three days a week, she explained.

English teacher Amy Danek said, “He’s a fabulous kid. We’re trying to do as much as we can to help. Medical bills and countless trips to Ann Arbor have taken their toll on the family. As a CHS family, we would love to give them some relief, so they can focus on helping Cole.”

In addition to the Miracle Minute, supporters have set up a GoFundMe account for him at https://www.gofundme.com/uun2w-for-cole. The page raised more than $1,000 within the first 24 hours of its posting, and continues to accept donations.